It is known in the field of vehicle seats to provide a seat belt retractor inside the seat back frame, and a belt guide having a slot for passing through the seat belt in an upper end of one of side frames forming the seat back frame. See JP2010-143438, for instance. In the vehicle seat disclosed in this patent document, a linear connecting member is connected between the two side frame members, and the retractor is supported by this connecting member via a bracket.
In order to securely restrain the vehicle occupant at the time of a vehicle crash, the support structure for the retractor is desired to have a high mechanical strength and stiffness. The vehicle seat disclosed in this patent document uses the bracket extending as a cantilever from the connecting member for supporting the retractor. Therefore, the bracket can be easily bent or twisted under a high load.
Additionally, for ensuring the comfort of the vehicle occupant seated in the seat, it is desirable to provide an adequate space between the retractor and the back of the vehicle occupant seated in the seat.